Pet Fashion Week NY Draws 1,000
The fourth edition of Pet Fashion Week NY drew quite a crowd to Manhattan’s Metropolitan Pavilion: About 1,000 people came throughout the weekend of Aug. 22-23 to see pet-related products in the event’s high-end, artistic style.
Products from 75 companies, including many first-time exhibitors, were on display. The companies themselves represented 22 countries, including France, Netherlands, Brazil and Venezuela, according to show organizer Mario DiFante, a pet industry advocate with more than 40 years of experience.
The event also proved to be quite a media draw: Representatives from more than 100 media outlets attended, including people from “The Martha Stewart Show” and reporters from France.
Some of the world’s top groomers took part in the “Styling for Charity” event, preparing model dogs in eye-catching ways. The model dogs were sold in a silent auction to benefit the Mayor’s Alliance for NYC’s Animals, based in New York. Among the designs was a tribute to Bo, the Portuguese water dog adopted by President Obama and his family. The replica was groomed by Jonathan David, known as “The Celebrity Pet Stylist” and runner-up on the first season of Animal Planet’s “Groomer Has It.”
The event also featured product arrangements by students of New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology. Items used in the installation ranged from pet bedding to apparel. The project was meant to highlight FIT’s new pet product design and marketing curriculum.
Pet Fashion Week NY 2010 will be held in August, though the exact dates were unavailable at press time. For information, visit www.petfashionweek.com. [November 2009 PET AGE]
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